{"id":1302064,"date":"2025-11-02T16:02:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1302064"},"modified":"2025-11-02T16:03:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:33:28","slug":"airlines-slapped-with-rs-15000-penalty-for-charging-extra-for-premium-seats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/airlines-slapped-with-rs-15000-penalty-for-charging-extra-for-premium-seats\/","title":{"rendered":"Airlines Slapped With Rs 15,000 Penalty For Charging Extra For Premium Seats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a significant ruling, the Maharashtra State Consumer Commission has upheld a decision against an airline for misleading a Navi Mumbai couple, into paying extra for seat selection despite the availability of free seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Read on to find out all the details!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airline Fined for Misleading Navi Mumbai Couple on Paid Seats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Nandy and his wife had booked tickets from Mumbai to New York via Dubai on August 26, 2017, with their return<\/a> on September 15, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to Dr. Nandy\u2019s health issues, they required adjacent seats. When they contacted the airline, they were told that only a few free seats would be assigned 48 hours before the flight and that convenient seats were not guaranteed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting on this information, the couple paid Rs 7,200 to pre-book their seats through web check-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, upon reaching the airport, they discovered that several passengers had obtained free seats, indicating that the airline had misled them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They filed a complaint with the District Consumer Commission, which ordered the airline to refund Rs 7,200 with 6% interest, plus Rs 5,000 for mental agony and Rs 3,000 for litigation costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maharashtra State Consumer Commission later upheld this order on September 25, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission stated that the airline \u201cfailed to provide adequate information about the availability of free seats,\u201d keeping the complainants \u201cin the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple \u2018Impliedly Forced\u2019 to Pay for Seats Due to Airline\u2019s Misleading Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It ruled that although the couple wasn\u2019t directly forced to pre-book, they were \u201cimpliedly forced\u201d due to misleading communication and lack of transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airline admitted that pre-booking was optional but did not inform passengers about free seat availability at the time of ticket purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission concluded that hiding such information violated consumer rights and amounted to a deceptive \u201cdark pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal experts said the verdict highlights the need for transparency, warning airlines against subtle tactics that pressure consumers into paying extra for optional services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling reinforces that consumers are entitled to full disclosure about services offered at a premium and that airlines must avoid practices that impair informed choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a significant ruling, the Maharashtra State Consumer Commission has upheld a decision against an airline for misleading a Navi Mumbai couple, into paying extra for seat selection despite the availability of free seats. Read on to find out all the details! Airline Fined for Misleading Navi Mumbai Couple on Paid Seats Dr. Nandy and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1302097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[989,8908],"class_list":["post-1302064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-airlines","tag-premium-seats"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAirlines Slapped With Rs 15,000 Penalty For Charging Extra For Premium Seats - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/airlines-slapped-with-rs-15000-penalty-for-charging-extra-for-premium-seats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Airlines Slapped With Rs 15,000 Penalty For Charging Extra For Premium Seats - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a significant ruling, the Maharashtra State Consumer Commission has upheld a decision against an airline for misleading a Navi Mumbai couple, into paying extra for seat selection despite the availability of free seats. 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